HEAD COACH TODD HALEY - OTA #4 Q&A HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 24, 2010

OPENING REMARKS: “We started our second week of OTAs; we are going to have three this week, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The weather was probably a little more like it is going to be at training camp this year, so it was good for the team to kind of feel that. It took them a little while to get moving, but overall I thought it was another good, productive day for us.”

Q: When you were on Jim Rome’s show last week you said you were not going to talk about the WR Dwayne Bowe situation because it didn’t happen on your watch. Can you just discuss a player talking about a situation like that outside the locker room?

HALEY: “I appreciate the question, Nick. Dwayne and I did have a long conversation and really from this point on, I will leave it at that. It was discussed and handled internally and we are moving forward. We are worrying about the progress we are making as a team as we go forward and that is really what’s important to me right now. As far as what was talked about, again, I will stay at that statement, it is something that went on while I was offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, so I am worrying about my own house.”

Q: What does it do to a locker room when a player speaks out of turn like Dwayne did?

HALEY: “I think that is where I come back to it being internally handled. When I talk about that, I don’t necessarily mean myself or management that is team business or family business, so to speak. Just as you would probably keep your family business (inside your family), that is what is happening here. That is the way the team wants to keep it.”

Q: Are you concerned with WR Dwayne Bowe’s progress on the field? Do you kind of wish he would move past this stuff off the field and just be a wide receiver?

HALEY: “I think I am looking at Dwayne no different than these other guys. He is another young player that is learning on the go, that we feel has a chance to be a good player that has a chance to do certain things in order to be a good player, to be talked about with really good players which I’ve talked about in the past with him. That is where we are at. He is much further along in the off-season compared to where he was last year and that is progress as far as I am concerned. This other thing, it is family business, so I’m trying not to get too caught up in it. I’m caught up in what he is doing on a daily basis out here which is working hard, getting himself into a position to compete and try and move into that upper echelon of receivers.”

Q: You had a focus last year of getting rid of distractions. Is that something you are going to have to work on with him?

HALEY: “That is something with everybody. I want the team first, the team has to come first and that is how you become a good team. When everybody is working together with a common goal, which is to win championships. For us, that starts with the AFC West, and that is all the focus can be. Everything these guys are doing has to be pointed in that direction. When you have the majority of your team doing that and you have enough talent, you should start to become a pretty good team and that is where we are at.”

Q: Can you use the Bowe situation as an example of what not to do with the other players?

HALEY: “Yeah, and I would go further than that. Periodically I have my assistants scan, I try to stay out of it as I have said and keep my family out of the media as much as possible. I will have them scan and I have specifically given direction that I want clips and articles (from around the league) where guys have spoken out of turn and what the result is and I read those to the team and talk about them. To see the results of it, which generally aren’t really good, that is one of the ways I try to keep us focused and going in the right direction. Does it always work? No, but that is my job and what I am working at all the time.”

Q: Is Bowe in a position yet where you don’t have to worry about him on the field? He looked sharper in practice today.

HALEY: “I don’t think any of these guys are and that is standard issue for a young team developing or up and coming. You have a lot of young guys that my coaching staff and myself are constantly coaching on and off the field and trying to get them to think the way that we know works and act the way that we know works and that is from a preparation standpoint. You know Dwayne is making progress, you saw it today. With the wind blowing a little bit and the ball moving a little bit, I thought it was a step in the right direction. All these guys can do is keep working as hard as they can right now. We are not in pads and the timing in the passing game is going to come along the slowest, generally that is rule because we haven’t done a lot with it. All we are doing is looking for progress and today I thought we saw some progress in that area. That is where we are at; we are in OTA number four and the next step in us trying to develop into a good team.”

Q: Do you think any of the QBs looked particularly sharp out there?

HALEY: “I would say that they have all had some shining moments and they have had some not so shining moments. It is to be expected and we are all working hard right now. As I said to the team at the start of this, this is not, ‘ok, now we are into football we are going to back off the other.’ There is a strenuous lift in the morning. I am down there, I watched it and it is strenuous. We are going to continue to make strength gains in the weight room right now and that makes it tough. This week in particular, the offense meets first and the defense lifts and then the offense lifts and the defense meets so offense is actually coming right out of the weight room going out to the field. That is not the easiest of situations but that is just how it is right now. That is the way we are doing it and that is what works best for this time of the year.”

Q: Charlie Weis is not only running the offense out there, but we can hear that he is also vocal when he needs to be in some intense situations.

HALEY: “I don’t have to be the bad guy all the time. Is that what you’re saying?”

Q: That’s what I mean. You said you were trying to mellow and you’re working on that, but is it easier when there is someone else there who you have enough faith in to handle those tough situations?

HALEY: “As I said, I wanted an offensive coordinator. The way things fell, it worked out in my mind, it was the best possible transition for both the team, for myself and for everybody involved because we’re not having to make major overhauls, we’re able to build on what we did. Number two, we’ve got a guy that I worked very closely with, shared an office with. I know I’ve said that, but that’s a big item. We’ve worked together, and back then in New York (Jets) we worked very well as a team coaching a position. That’s kind of how we’ve picked up where we left off; it’s just a little different role. I think there is a good balance there, no different than there’s a great balance, you know (Assistant Head Coach) Maurice Carthon is another one of our emotional guys or one that’s not afraid to get after our players and there’s got to be a balance there.”

Q: Now that there is another guy like that, is it a chance to play good cop, bad cop where you can pick and choose how you make an impact on guys?

HALEY: “Like I said, I’ve got a lot of guys on staff that I feel very comfortable with that I can have open discussions with about an individual player, position groups, whatever it is, and really just do the best job possible of coaching these guys. That’s the name of the game and I feel very comfortable with the staff and where we’re at. I knew it would be a bit of a process and last year I felt very comfortable and good but I feel like we’ve taken steps in all areas, and that’s the name of the game, to coach them up – coach them up.”

Q: Is running a little more Wildcat something in your plans with WR Dexter McCluster being there, or is that something that you can see being beneficial from a number of guys?

HALEY: “I think as you get to know your team – we might have to take the cameras away now that we’re telling secrets (laughs) – some of it’s bluffs, some of it’s not – but as you get to know your team and the individual players a little better, like I said we had a small package last year that we practiced a lot more than actually ever showed up on the field, but this is the time of year to kind of check out what each guys’ skills are. We have a number of guys on the team that have been involved in that type of offense before, so again, this is the time of year you check some of that out and see who can do what and see who’s comfortable doing what and go from there.”

Q: Did DB Eric Berry have a great week last week to now be running with the ones?

HALEY: “Again Bob, I wouldn’t put too much stake in where guys are right now, and that goes for everybody across the board. We are really in that feeling-out process. Some of it has to do with getting some guys more reps, others it has to do with reward of good weeks or bad weeks. (We) just put players in different positions and see how they respond.”

Q: DT Derek Lokey was with the second group at nose tackle. Can you envision him being successful at that position at this level?

HALEY: “He’s a guy that was kind of a pleasant surprise last year and then he got hurt so we missed him really for the whole year, got him back in the off-season and he’s working really hard and again, I wouldn’t put too much into guys moving around, whether it’s forward or back and it just may be to get guys more reps because of the limited number of plays we have, but he’s doing a good job.”

Q: How about DB Maurice Leggett. Is he still a safety or is he a hybrid guy?

HALEY: “Leggett’s another one with a bunch of versatility. If you ask him he’ll be saying he wants on offense some. Again, just trying to move guys around and figure out what’s best for them, what gives them the best possible chance to succeed and what gives us as a team the best chance to succeed. He’s one of those guys that can do a little bit but at the same time, you don’t want to disrupt players and have them spend all their time at one spot and then, ‘oh by the way, we’re going to move you over there.’ It’s all part of the process but right now, Maurice is working at corner which I think he has a real good chance to have success at.”